WASHINGTON, May 18. /TASS/. The US administration is waiving sanctions on shipments of Russian oil loaded onto vessels for 30 days to ensure "the most vulnerable countries" have access to energy resources, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced.

"US Treasury is issuing a temporary 30-day general license to provide the most vulnerable nations with the ability to temporarily access Russian oil currently stranded at sea. This extension will provide additional flexibility, and we will work with these nations to provide specific licenses as needed," he wrote on the X social network. Bessent did not specify which countries he was referring to.

On March 12, the US Treasury Department lifted sanctions on transactions involving the sale of Russian oil and petroleum products loaded onto vessels before that date. On March 19, it updated the license, adding provisions that prohibited transactions involving several regions of Russia, as well as North Korea and Cuba. That license expired on April 11. On April 17, the US Treasury Department issued another license allowing, until May 16, transactions for the sale, transportation, and unloading of Russian-origin oil and petroleum products loaded onto tankers prior to April 17.